Reasons for under-reporting of notifiable communicable diseases in the Kingdom of Bahrain: a health-centers based survey

Background: Poor compliance by physicians with communicable diseases reporting is a worldwide phenomenon. In Bahrain, there are limited data regarding thoroughness and completeness of the current communicable diseases reporting system. Objective: To identify reasons for noncompliance with reporting of notifiable communicable diseases by primary health care physicians practicing in the Ministry of Health (MoH) primary health care centers. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Two hundred and forty-one self-administered questionnaires were distributed to all primary health care physicians practicing in all primary care health centers of the Ministry of Health. The questionnaires included items regarding socio-demographic and practice-related characteristics, self-reported practice related to communicable diseases reporting and reasons for noncompliance with reporting requirements. Results: The response rate was 93%; the mean age of the respondents was 43 ±8.36 years. The period of experience in clinical practice ranged from 1 to 35 years with a mean of 12.84 ± 7.86 years. Lack of feedback on notified cases, forgot to notify, and not sure of diagnosis were cited by more than half of the physicians as reasons for noncompliance with communicable diseases reporting. Conclusion: The findings suggest that there are several reasons for noncompliance with reporting requirements. Revising the current notification procedure to resolve some of the reasons is vital to enhance communicable diseases reporting in Bahrain.